Witherbloom, the BalancerWitherbloom, the Balancer | Art by Kev Walker

Secrets of Strixhaven releases this Friday, but hopefully you got to attend a prerelease and play some of this cool new set! I'm really excited about our return to Strixhaven, and it's chock full of great cards I want to add to my Commander decks or brew brand new decks around.

When doing deck techs here on new commanders, a lot of it is done virtually using deckbuilding tools and brainstorming, but in this case I've actually built this deck in paper, minus the new cards I haven't gotten my hands on yet, so I'm doubly excited to share!

What Does Witherbloom, the BalancerWitherbloom, the Balancer Do?

First off, Witherbloom has affinity for creatures, which is a huge boon for a creature with a whopping mana cost. Notably, when you see a high-mana-value commander with a built-in discount, it's good to look around for spells that care about high-mana creatures in general and commanders specifically, of which there are plenty!

Next, Witherbloom also has flying and deathtouch, which is almost incidental since you will rarely want to chump block with this, and being a 5/5 isn't super-threatening. What is super-threatening is that very last ability, which reads "instant and sorcery spells you cast have affinity for creatures." I mean, discounting your commander is one thing, but discounting any and all instant or sorcery spells you cast? Wow!

So your deck is going to want to do two things: first, deploy as many creatures as possible early, hopefully without overextending yourself; second, once Witherbloom hits the battlefield, you'll want to pretty quickly take advantage of that last ability, either chaining together cheaper instant or sorcery spells in a game-winning flurry, or playing one or two high-mana-value spell for cheap. If Witherbloom sticks around, run that back and keep the good times rolling! Me, I prefer casting big splashy spells in Commander anyway, so my Witherbloom deck squeezes more than normal into the deck to keep the boom booms coming.

Key Cards for Witherbloom, the BalancerWitherbloom, the Balancer

The first thing I went looking for were cheap creatures that provided mana in one way or another, because just by being a creature it already provides mana for Witherbloom and the instant and sorcery spells you want to cast. Studious First-YearStudious First-Year uses the awesome new prepared spell mechanic, and in this case it's got a Rampant GrowthRampant Growth attached you could conceivably cast the same or next turn. Then there are the gang of one-mana critters Elves of Deep ShadowElves of Deep Shadow, Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves and Fyndhorn ElvesFyndhorn Elves.

To be honest, Wall of RootsWall of Roots was the first card I added to my deck: not only could it discount Witherbloom and big spells on your own turn, but it could also do it on each other turn, too! Reclusive TaxidermistReclusive Taxidermist and Sylvan CaryatidSylvan Caryatid are mana critters for two mana and are pretty interchangeable with a slew of similar ones, though I particularly like these for color fixing.

Farhaven ElfFarhaven Elf and Wood ElvesWood Elves do a pretty good imitation of CultivateCultivate and Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach in this deck, and I've been itching to slot Transdimensional BovineTransdimensional Bovine into a deck and this seems perfect!

Gwenna, Eyes of GaeaGwenna, Eyes of Gaea and Goreclaw, Terror of Qal SismaGoreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma are excellent ways to churn out Witherbloom ahead of schedule, and I like that Goreclaw can give Witherbloom trample when attacking, which combines nicely with Witherbloom's deathtouch ability.

Outside of mana, I leaned hard on creatures for utility functions. Deathrite ShamanDeathrite Shaman can manage an opponent's graveyard and occasionally provide an extra mana when an opponent drops a land into their graveyard. Insidious FungusInsidious Fungus and Haywire MiteHaywire Mite deal with problematic artifacts or enchantments.

CankerbloomCankerbloom and Undergrowth LeopardUndergrowth Leopard also deal with problematic artifacts or enchantments. Sinister GnarlbarkSinister Gnarlbark is another new-ish card I had in search for a home, and I really like that extra card draw to help ensure an explosive turn once I cast Witherbloom.

I have a fair number of legendary creatures in the deck, so I thought Cleopatra, Exiled PharaohCleopatra, Exiled Pharaoh made sense. I could actually use her and Gnarlbark to blight another legendary creature and then blank the -1/-1 counter with a +1/+1 counter. The Gitrog, Ravenous RideThe Gitrog, Ravenous Ride seems fun to saddle with Witherbloom, sacrifice it, and hopefully you still have plenty of creatures to easily replay Witherbloom again but now with a fuller grip of cards. Then there's the original incarnation of our commander, Beledros WitherbloomBeledros Witherbloom, which generates little Pest token creatures to help with affinity for creatures, and of course that crazy activated ability to untap all lands you control once each turn, well worth the ten life cost.

I went looking for ways to generate creature tokens to help go wide without committing too many extra cards to the battlefield. Sinkhole SurveyorSinkhole Surveyor's endure ability will usually make a Spirit token, though the flexibility of the buff might come in handy. Springheart NantukoSpringheart Nantuko is just awesome to enchant with its bestow ability, making 1/1 Insect tokens with each Landfall trigger, or making a copy of enchanted creature if you've got the mana to invest, and then there's ArachnogenesisArachnogenesis, a big surprise when someone is going all out on an attack, and if Witherbloom is out it could likely only cost one green mana like its grandpappy, FogFog!

Curious HerdCurious Herd, Saproling SymbiosisSaproling Symbiosis, and Spontaneous GenerationSpontaneous Generation are other token-creature-generators that can easily be cast for just one green mana with Witherbloom on the battlefield. You might even be able to cast Symbiosis with flash!

Since we're playing a creature-heavy deck we've got to play Spider SpawningSpider Spawning, which can provide an instant army after a battlefield-sweeper. Deep Forest HermitDeep Forest Hermit gives you five bodies for five mana, while Ghoulcaller GisaGhoulcaller Gisa can cash in a larger power creature for a bunch of Zombie tokens.

Next, I went looking for ways to give me resilience against creature sweeper spells. Elvish VisionaryElvish Visionary and Mosswood DreadknightMosswood Dreadknight replace themselves with another card drawn, while Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention can protect your entire team, potentially for just one green mana (maybe from Wall of RootsWall of Roots on an opponent's turn).

I know we now have Witherbloom CharmWitherbloom Charm, but I just like the modes of Golgari CharmGolgari Charm better, especially being able to regenerate my creatures from a mass destroy or damage effect. Growing Rites of ItlimocGrowing Rites of Itlimoc helps dig for another creature, and this deck should easily be able to transform it. Then there's Unstoppable SlasherUnstoppable Slasher, which needs to be killed twice to finally go away. Even though two stun counters is an eternity in Commander, it will still stick around adding to the creature count.

Nine-Lives FamiliarNine-Lives Familiar will die nine times before it's finally gone, so you can really count on it keeping your creature count afloat. Midnight ReaperMidnight Reaper and Grim HaruspexGrim Haruspex help recoup fresh cards from actual creature cards you've deployed when they die.

So does Spinner of SoulsSpinner of Souls, but without the loss of life, and it guarantees replacement creatures for each creature that dies except itself. The oft-forgotten Sifter of SkullsSifter of Skulls generates 1/1 Eldrazi Scion tokens whenever a creature card you control dies, keeping that creature count high.

Toski, Bearer of SecretsToski, Bearer of Secrets and Sapling of ColfenorSapling of Colfenor are indestructible, which makes them impervious to many mass creature removal spells, and they have conditional card draw attached too.

Here's where we get to the good stuff! Sadistic Shell GameSadistic Shell Game is a card I haven't found worth a card slot yet at five mana, but for one mana? Sign me up! Season of GatheringSeason of Gathering, on the other hand, I simply love even at full cost, but at a discount? Heck yeah! Awaken the WoodsAwaken the Woods is incredible in this deck, both as a set-up card to help cast Witherbloom, or as a payoff card once Witherbloom is on the battlefield. I don't have a copy of this yet, but I've got my fingers crossed that I'll crack a Secrets of Strixhaven Mystical Archive version in my box! If not, perhaps the cost will come down in a few weeks and I can snag a copy.

Overwhelming ForcesOverwhelming Forces is another card that is just a teeny bit too expensive for me to slot in my decks in normal circumstances, but the discount makes it incredibly enticing. Army of the DamnedArmy of the Damned is another army in a can, twice! With that affinity for creatures discount, Pest InfestationPest Infestation can really clear out a ton of problematic artifacts and enchantments.

Kamahl's WillKamahl's Will and Szat's WillSzat's Will have slightly underwhelming effects for the mana cost... normally! But for just one mana? Heck yeah! And of course Stinging StudyStinging Study at instant speed for one mana is the absolute bee's knees considering the mana cost of Witherbloom!

Majestic GenesisMajestic Genesis is another awesome inclusion here, an expensive spell that's better with a high-mana commander, and I slotted in Homeward PathHomeward Path because the deck is going to be very sad if somebody steals Witherbloom, and as a two-color land I can afford a few colorless mana land cards.

How Does This Witherbloom, the BalancerWitherbloom, the Balancer Commander Deck Win?

Per usual with me, this deck is a solid Core (Bracket 2) deck, designed to grind value, interact, and play a lot of turns before finishing up with big splashy plays.

Sprout SwarmSprout Swarm is a combo card in this deck. If you have four or more creatures, including Witherbloom, for one green mana or an untapped green creature, you can pay for the buyback and make a green Saproling token, which can be tapped to convoke the green cost to cast again, for as many Saprolings as you might need to finish the game, all at instant speed. I debated adding ExsanguinateExsanguinate to the deck, but why not play the new Stensian SanguinistStensian Sanguinist instead? ExsanguinateExsanguinate should go down easier if you jump through hoops before casting it.

A two-mana Preposterous ProportionsPreposterous Proportions should go a long way towards finishing off games, as should a late-game Rise of the Dark RealmsRise of the Dark Realms.

Witherbloom, the BalancerWitherbloom, the Balancer Commander Deck List

Conclusion

I am incredibly excited to build this deck and jam it. I think it's powerful and can likely hang with Bracket 3 decks, but I'm not going to push more combos or oppressive cards into the deck. What I really like is how this deck can easily be tweaked over time as cool new creatures and cool new big instant and sorcery spells come out I want to try out.

What about you? What creatures or big mana spells are you going to slam in your Witherbloom, the BalancerWitherbloom, the Balancer deck?

Read more:

The Best New Commanders in Secrets of Strixhaven

The 10 Best Colored Artifacts in Commander